Plane heading to Tanzania airport crashes into Lake Victoria, killing 19

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Nairobi, Kenya – A small passenger plane approaching a Tanzanian airport crashed into Lake Victoria on Sunday morning, killing 19 people on board, the country’s prime minister said.

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Prime Minister Qasim Majariwa announced that the death toll had risen from three. Earlier, local officials said 26 people on a Precision Air flight from the coastal city of Dar es Salaam were rescued and taken to hospital. Not obvious.

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Photos showed most of the planes heading to Bukoba airport submerged in the lake. Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline.

“We were able to save quite a few people,” Kagera State Police Commander William Mwampagale told journalists.

“When the aircraft was about 100 meters (328 feet) in the air, we encountered problems and bad weather. It was raining and the plane went into the water,” he said.

Mwanpagale said rescue efforts are continuing.